


Comparison Of Two

by Full_of_Bones



Category: OFF (Game), Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, first fic, in which zacharie hops games, tags are added as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-06-05 07:45:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15165953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Full_of_Bones/pseuds/Full_of_Bones
Summary: Day in, day out, there was never change to the endless, agonizing routine Zacharie had become so accustomed to. Awaken, run from zone to zone to assist the Batter with weapons and a variety of equipment, turn OFF. Rinse and repeat.Needless to say, he was fucking sick of it.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> First fanfic ive written, there are plans for this to go on for more than a chapter, but the chapters might be short and sporadic because of how new i am to this;; if you see any typos, feel free to point them out!

Day in, day out, there was never change to the endless, agonizing routine Zacharie had become so accustomed to. Awaken, run from zone to zone to assist the Batter with weapons and a variety of equipment, turn OFF. Rinse and repeat.

Needless to say, he was fucking sick of it.

At the very beginning, Zacharie had been desperately optimistic and eager to please, delighted to run though his script and play the oh so loyal and trustworthy merchant to his protagonist. The thing is, nobody can really keep something like that up forever. It's not like it would change, no matter how many times he throws himself at his routine with cheer and a skip in his step.

When something goes full throttle it's guaranteed to burn out, and Zacharie was no exception to the rule. He could hardly stand it anymore.

There had been a lull in his mission for what felt like weeks, the Batter merely sitting silently by the point he had been left at, discarded like an unfavored doll. Zacharie had always strictly avoided the other outside of the scripted meetings, if only to avoid sudden fits of rage he had only ever witnessed the aftermath to, but now he stood directly in front of the man, eyeing the slumped over form. This was.. pretty much it, wasn't it?

He wasn't planning to stick around for another day- surely this game could function without him for an hour or two? Unfortunately for his plans of ditching though, he has to get to the save point. The exact save point the ruthless puppet's been practically on top of for the last month or so.

It was quite obvious Batter was asleep, or at least very, very out of it, but Zacharie allowed paranoia to take the reins regardless, calling out to the slumped form. "...Hola, amigo." No response, thank god. No way in hell would he have even thought twice about stepping even an inch closer if they were awake. The only ones foolish enough were the elsens, and Zacharie quite liked to think of himself as anything but a vapid fool. Not to insult the elsen or anything though, of course not! they... simply weren't the best at thinking under duress.

Untying faithful Ashley from its place on the side of his bag, Zacharie cautiously inched his way forward, bat in hand. Extending himself as far as he can reach, the merchant slowly pushes the man off the Save Point, holding his breath as he watches them fall with a soft thump. It would almost be funny the way they slunk off like some boneless creature if Zach wasn't so fucking close to absolutely pissing himself.

Would definitely be absolutely hilarious in retrospect, though.

"Why did it have to be the last used one?" Zacharie bemoaned, delicately stepping around the prone body to grab for the red square. To access things outside of the Game, he had to go directly through the Save Point most recently used by the dear puppeteer and their marionette. One of the main reasons he had never bothered before now, really, but the puppeteer had been gone so long that the puppet itself is down for the count. He could only hope that it stays that way until his return, now.

Resting calloused hands on the cube, it was almost surreal to see the game's menu. He knew of it and everything to do with the puppeteer's equipment, sure, but to see it with his own eyes was something astonishing, something that should be well and truly beyond his grasp hovering delicately before him.

Guilt burned his ears red, feeling like a child caught doing something unseemly, even as he flicked through the menu with its variety of stats about Batter.

"...Right, no use stalling any further, i guess." Taking a deep breath, Zacharie steels himself, directing his attention to the QUIT option, white text shining brightly against the dark gray.

**QUIT? (Y/N)**

**Y**

The world faded to black, and its so much more relieving than Zacharie could have dreamed of, the ever present smog simply dissapearing into the cool darkness, the save point compressing into a miniature star, linked to him through a thin, red string.

Within moments, lights flared to life around him, glowing far brighter than the weak glow of his own game, but both just as astounding to the simple merchant.

The twinking lights dancing around him held the merchant in awe, craning his head back to watch what looked like a miniature galaxy of worlds, each and every one so very, very different and so much more than he's ever dreamed of.

"These should all be games, then?" He mumbled to himself, taking a cautious step towards the nearest blinking light. As he neared it, the glow seemingly unfolds into a cartoon, beating heart, not unlike the one emblazoned across the chest of his shirt.

"A wonderful change of pace... i hope." He grabs for the heart, his own racing in his chest, fit to burst at the exhilaration and thought of seeing anything, anything other than the zones.

**STARTING UNDERTALE...**

 


	2. Sometimes, It's Not Nearly As Fun As You Would Think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> no proofreading we submit our shit at 1 am half a year later like men

The first thing he was aware of was a pounding in his head, and a bone-deep ache in his limbs. Letting out a strained huff, Zacharie merely flipped himself over in the patch of flowers below him, the faint light through his eyelids feeling like a jackhammer to the skull. God- he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for the next week- hell, the next month even. 

The man spent quite a long time like that, stomach down against vibrant flowers just trying not to puke. Sure, he had expected the trip to not go so smooth, but in the moment it left him second guessing whether or not this was really worth the effort. Going over a mental checklist, Zacharie very carefully tried to sit up, leaning back onto his legs- or at least uh, initially.

Hmm more first person below, fix later. Get them in the shoes  
Turns out sitting up was probably not the best thing he could do, judging by the rather painful expulsion of what he had eaten, sweat dripping down his face and his legs weak. 

Honestly, now that he thinks about it, the only time he had ever felt so sick was when Batter had bashed him in the stomach so hard he was sure he would just vomit out everything inside. Taking deep, heavy breaths, he moved away to preferrably distance himself from the small puddle of disturbingly meaty, red vomit all over the poor flowers.

Talk about ruining the scenery.

Actually, speaking of scenery, where the hell was he? This couldn’t be the entire game, but it wasn’t as if Zacharie could actually make out anything in the darkness surrounding the small shaft of light he currently resided in. ... Ominous. Slowly swiveling about to get a good look, it soon became apparent that there was simply not much to get a look at in the first place, the entire area around him simply… too hard to make out in the darkness.

As he became more aware of his surroundings it came to the man’s attention that he was missing something particularly important- his bag. This realization was frankly terrifying when one had never let the thing out of their sight- hell, it rarely ever even left his back! But here he was, sitting alone in some sad, shitty cave without the one thing that enabled him to do what he does the best. Upon further inspection, there did seem to be another pack, but it looked as if it were for a small child, little green and red creatures with spikes all down their backs printed upon it in a friendly-looking manner, directly contrasting the warm and happy blue that made up the base material... Actually, that looked really cute- too many colors all in one place for his taste, but perhaps he could find the owner? The first mission he could take upon himself!

The prospect made Zacharie giddy, but one rather large issue gave him pause. His hands were... Smooth and strangely soft, and now that he’s closer to the bag it wasn’t nearly as small in comparison to him as he initially assumed. His shirt seemed to barely fit him- how the hell did he not notice? Wincing at the vomit stains down the shirt, Zacharie settled for twisting the hem of the shirt into a tight knot, the heart on the front so small before now seemingly taking up his entire chest and stomach. While the shirt was kind of an easy fix, he wasn’t sure he could reasonably do anything about the pants- the waist was just.. Too large. 

Was being so.. Tiny really relevant to the plot of this world? It damn well better be, because he can hardly wade through his pants anymore with the way that they are. Zacharie soon found himself eyeing the backpack behind him in a far more.. appreciative manner than he had before, mulling something over.

Well, with how big everything is, it’s not as if anyone would be able to tell he was running around in his now knee-length boxers… right?  
(Doubtful, looking at all of the little red hearts covering the fabric, but how was he supposed to know it wouldn’t pass inspection?)

Bundling up the denim, Zacharie haphazardly shoved it into the schoolbag, before hefting it up onto his back. Surely the owner wouldn’t mind if he ah… used it for the time being?

The absolutely-nothing-fits issue semi-solved, the man (boy?) turned his attention to the inky black beyond the patch of flowers, steadying himself before marching confidently forwards- and straight into a wall. Ouch.

Letting out a miffed growl, now that he thought about it, perhaps marching off into the dark where he can’t see for jack shit was not his most… intelligent plan of all times. Nursing his bruised nose (and ego), Zacharie moved to begin feeling along the walls, the smooth stone beneath his palms gradually evening out from the circular shape. At the very least he was glad to know there is, in fact, more than just some weird, round hole. It would be awesome if he could actually have any sort of light, really, but beggars can’t be choosers, and the game’s very clearly not allowing him to have the advantage of preparation, here.

After what felt like a solid 15 minutes just walking along the cavern walls, Zacharie found himself surprised at the sudden transition from natural earth to deliberately carved bricks, and a sharp right turn. Inching his way around the corner, he was greeted by the sight of another break in the cavern ceiling, light shining through far brighter than the previous hole. Finally able to get any sort of look at the general area, Zacharie was… generally unsurprised, to say the least. It was about as much as he had expected, dark gray and brown walls, and what he assumed would be a strong purple coloration to the arch he had just passed through, were it directly in the light.

Taking the absence of.. Anything in the room period as a total lack of importance to the place, the man turned child continued on, towards a far brighter lit area just ahead.

He feels like he’s… missing something here, to say the least.


	3. A Small, Quaint Bag, Is It Not?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i honest to god dont remember writing this in any way shape or form, so that's fun. here we are, folks.
> 
> its like ass o clock and honestly ive read it and i dont know how to feel anymore so i may as well just submit it and be done with it i guess
> 
> EDIT--
> 
> thanks to Conifer for saving my dumb ass and letting me know i accidentally posted a previous bit. sorry;; went ahead and fixed that

It was uncomfortably bright in the new room even from behind the security of his mask, but where exactly was the light coming from? There were no discernable lanterns or ceiling lights to be giving off this much light aside from the small one in between the stairs, after all.. Curious!

 

Carefully avoiding the strange red flakes on the ground (weird and gross looking! What are those things supposed to be? Shitty rock textures?) Zacharie made his way up the marble staircase, tightening the bag straps as he went. Although, he will admit the place is quite pretty, it's far from comforting or.. even remotely appealing, really. The neon colors of the area were familiar, sure, but the way the walls loomed up around him and the ground that seemed to crackle beneath his feet were far from a pleasant stroll.

Passing through the arch, Zacharie found himself confronted by the first issue- a whopping six buttons, a golden switch, and a closed door.

"Helloo? Is.. /anyone/ here?" Are they really just... going to throw him into the puzzles without even a tutorial? What kind of a game is this? No instruction whatsoever, do this puzzle, good luck? Not even a friendly slap on the ass and a shove into the meat?

Guess so.

Stepping closer to read the plaque upon the wall, it took a second for it to fully click- /he couldn't read whatever it was saying./

Amazing! Absolutely fucking Fantastic! Love it!

"Can't even get a translation here? No?" He called out to the air, returning to the buttons when receiving no reply. Well, it was worth a try. Grinding through what was probably supposed to be an easy puzzle it is, then. Step on the first panel, flick the switch, rinse and repeat.

Step. Click. Switch. Step. Click. Switch. Step. Click. Switch.

Step. Click. S- wait, what? He didn't even get to make it to the switch on the wall, the wall seemingly sliding open of it's own accord. It just sort of... seemed to ascend upwards without a sound, no stone or plastic even dislodged from what should have been a whole lot of grinding. Weird.

"Oh dear!" A peculiar goat-like woman from the looks of it emerges from the doorway, a hand clasped over her muzzle in what seems to be surprise. "Have you fallen, little one? Why, so many at once.. Are you hurt?" She was quick on her feet to rub at her red rimmed eyes and approach Zacharie, hunching down to look properly at him.

"I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins, my child. I- please excuse me for coming by so late, i was not expecting anyone at this time." Her smile seemed fragile but honest, a hand extended to the boy.

Now, while Zacharie isn't exactly keen on taking some stranger's hand, she quite frankly looked like a friendly cloud, all big puffy and white. He barely comes up to her hip really, when he positive he would've normally come and gone a few inches above her head. It puts things into perspective- a perspective he's not sure he likes.

A perspective that's putting him right at uncomfortable crotch hugging height.

Terrible.

"Zacharie, at your service ma'am." Mildly downtrodden from the sudden realization of how unfortunate his situation really was at the moment, his normally over the top presentation was subdued. He did make sure to go out of his way to do a great, flourishing bow, though. It just doesn't feel right if you don't, you know? It's like Zone 0 without Pablo, or Hugo outside his room. 

Just isn't right, man.

"Oh my, so proper!" The bow seemed to brighten her face a little, clapping her hands and straightening up to her full height. "Come along now, my little gentleman. I would like to educate you in the ways of the ruins."

Reaching out to take her hand, Zacharie's pretty sure that going to toriel and-

Wait.

Hold the fucking phone.

Tutoriel? Seriously? The tutorial shows up twenty minutes after he needs a small infographic on the puzzle and it's just... gonna be called tutorial?

His hope for this game to be an interesting adventure is slowly dwindling.

"You- tutorial? Is this honestly your name, miss? No offense intended but-"

Toriel burst out into laughter, her grip tightening on his hand as she led him into the room she had just left, her pace requiring him to go at a light jog to keep in time. "Yes, dear child, i am aware. I suppose you could say i am not 'kid'ding? I believe i have 'goat' a wonderful name, just like you." 

The strange stressing of some words as she spoke kind of threw Zacharie off as he listened, as the joke seemed to fly right over his head. What's so special about the word kidding? What's he missing??

" I- ah.. nevermind, i suppose." Letting out a long suffering sigh, he shrugs it off and allows himself to be dragged behind the woman, and further into the ruins.

He's not particularly wanting to go through a full level of tutorials- but it's not as if he could turn her down.

This is going to be a long couple of hours...

**Author's Note:**

> Thought it would be funny if there was a crossover between off and undertale, and it went a little too far i guess.


End file.
